At the box office, it will be difficult for either of them to unseat the spectacular profits accrued by "Marvel's The Avengers." The all-star superhero gathering, with its main action scenes shot in Cleveland, is set to surpass $600 million in North America. When you add international grosses, the number is $1.4 billion.

And counting.

"Marvel's The Avengers" is already in third place on the all-time box office list, according to boxofficemojo.com, trailing only "Avatar" and "Titanic," and is still pulling them in. Some fans have seen it four, five, six times.

Despite that success, the rest of the summer fare thus far has been rather blah for theater owners, as films such as "Battleship," "Dark Shadows," "Rock of Ages" and "That's My Boy" have laid big financial eggs. Which is why so many are relying on July to kick start the turnstiles.

Spider-Man returns after a five-year hiatus. "Spider-Man 3," also filmed partially in Cleveland, marked the end of the Sam Raimi Spidey series with Tobey Maguire. It was not exactly the most beloved of the three films.

The latest Batman arrives four years after "The Dark Knight," one of the most popular films ever. (It was "The Dark Knight" that "Marvel's The Avengers" recently surpassed to become No. 3 all-time.) And it marks the end (or so they are saying) of the Nolan-Bale teaming that started in 2005 with "Batman Begins."

Which raises the question: Which film are more people jazzed about?

"After 'The Avengers,' 'The Dark Knight Rises' is the most anticipated film of the summer, and it's definitely the most anticipated three-quel since 'Return of the Jedi,' in terms of closing off a trilogy," said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations in Los Angeles.

"I don't think 'The Dark Knight' will catch 'The Avengers' in terms of worldwide grosses, but still it should do upwards of $500 million domestically," said Bock. "Spider-Man has also been an amazing franchise. It's a huge draw, and as much as people may be moaning about this reboot, it looks like it could be better than the Sam Raimi films."

The new Peter Parker is played by Andrew Garfield. Most film fans know him as Eduardo, the friend Mark Zuckerberg screwed over for Facebook profits in "The Social Network." He's a good actor but not exactly known as an action movie star. Neither was Tobey Maguire.

The rest of the upcoming summer slate includes Katy Perry's 3-D documentary "Katy Perry: Part of Me," catching the pop star on and off stage (out Thursday); "The Bourne Legacy" (Aug. 10), which does not star Matt Damon as Jason Bourne but does feature Jeremy Renner as an agent named Aaron Cross; and "Sparkle" (Aug. 17), Whitney Houston's last film, which stars Jordin Sparks as an aspiring singer in the 1960s.

What the season has yet to produce is a breakout comedy. Last year at this time, "Bridesmaids" and "The Hangover Part II" were already flying high. Contenders include "Ted," "The Watch," and "The Campaign."

"Ted," from "Family Guy" funny man Seth MacFarlane, opens today. It stars Mark Wahlberg as a man beleaguered by his talking Teddy Bear (MacFarlane), who has stuck around since childhood. When Paramount pulled a shocker and yanked the heavily promoted "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" from today's much-coveted pre-Fourth of July week slot, Universal jumped in and moved "Ted" up on the calendar.

"The Watch" (July 27), previously called "Neighborhood Watch" before the Trayvon Martin shooting, follows suburban dads Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill as they keep an eye on their houses with aliens attacking. "The Campaign" (Aug. 10) pits Will Ferrell against Zach Galifianakis as rivals for a congressional seat in North Carolina.

As for the biggest summer bust? We may not have seen it yet.

"The one everyone is calling the bomb of the summer, because it cost $200 million to make, is the 'Total Recall' reboot," said Bock. The sci-fi action-thriller stars Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale. "It's supposed to open on Aug. 3. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony pulled it and moved it to the fall. The first one was a classic, and Colin Farrell has never really been able to open a film."

The original "Total Recall" in 1990, of course, starred everyone's favorite scandal-ridden former politico, Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you've been missing Arnold on the big screen, don't worry. The Governator will be back Aug. 17, joining Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and other tough-guy types for "The Expendables 2," because, as always, summer equals sequels.

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